Module 1
Introduction to Botany:
Basic Concepts to Understand Botany
BOTANY
The Plant Biology
• Botany comes front the Greek
words ‘botanikos’ (botanical),
‘botane’ (plant/grass/herb), and
‘boskein’ (to feed), and the French
word ‘botanique’ (botanical).
• It is simply defined as the scientific
study of plants, which includes its
structure and function, physiology,
classification, origin and evolution,
diseases, and interaction with the
environment.
• Plants can be defined in many ways
– from a multicellular eukaryotic
living thing to a member of Kingdom
Plantae, to an organism that can
produce their own food, to an
organism that has rigid walls, to a
living thing that has roots, stems,
and leaves and so on.
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
1. Observation
2. Question
3. Hypothesis
4. Experiment
5. Analysis
6. Conclusion
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION
Ancient Period
o Primitive men can distinguish
edible from poisonous plants
through a system of trial and error
that is passed on from one
generation to the next.
o Egyptians
➢ Ebers Papyrus – one of the oldest
surviving medical record made by
the Egyptians
o Greeks – pioneered the definite
expression of Plant Science’s problems &
principles for practical reasons.
➢ The Ancient Greeks
• Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)
- studied the “nature” of plants
- 1st man to become familiar w/ wide range
of biological facts
•Theophrastus (371 – 287 BC)
Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus
von Hohenheim
- Father of Botany
- History of Plants – classification of crude
plants into flowering (Phanerogams) and
non-flowering (Cryptogams)
• Crateuas (1st Century BC)
-Father of Botanical Illustrations
- Rhyzotomist (root cutter/herb gatherer)
- Made the first illustrated herbals and the
oldest treaties on Pharmacology
• Pliny the Elder (23 – 79 AD)
Caius Plinius Secundus
-Natural History (37 volumes) – description
of the biological, medicinal and agricultural
aspects of plants
-First to use the word “stamen”
Module 1
Introduction to Botany:
Basic Concepts to Understand Botany
➢ The Ancient Romans
o Pedanios Dioscorides (62 – 128 AD)
- Studied the medicinal values of plants
- De Materia Medica – description of
medicinal properties of about 600 plant
species.
Medieval – Renaissance Period
o 16th to 17th century Botanists explore
plants primarily for their curative qualities
focusing on Plant classification. New books
were easily printed and distributed due to
invention of printing presses and
advancement in navigation.
o HERBALS – chief botanical books
containing descriptions and drawing/wood-
cut illustrations of plants
➢ The German Herbalists
• Heironymus Bock (1498 – 1554)
- One of the 3 German Fathers of Botany
- Began the transition from medieval the
modern scientific botany thru his books and
his own system of classifying plants
- Plant Book (Kreutterbuch) – classification
of about 700 plants by arranging it by their
relation or resemblance
• Leonhard Fuchs (1501 – 1566)
- One of the 3 German Fathers of Botany
- Notable Commentaries on the History of
Plants (De historia stirpium commentarii
insignes) – description of 497 plants &
illustrated over 500 superb woodcuts based
on first-hand observation
• Otto Brunfels (1488 – 1534)
- One of the 3 German Fathers of Botany
- Herbarium of Life-like Images in Imitation
of Nature (Herbarum vivae eicones ad
naturae imitationem) – collection of original
detailed and realistic representation of
live plants
Illustrator: Hans Weiditz
• Gaspard Bauhin (1560-1624)
- Phytopinax – description & classification of
plants by drawing comparisons to the later
binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus
- Illustrated Exposition of Plants (Pinax
theatri botanici) – description &
classification of about 6,000 plant species
using traditional grouping.
Modern Period
o Explorations of the 18th century led to the
discovery of thousands of new plants and
facts of plant life was divorced from
superstition, folklore, and mythology
➢ The 18th Century Italian Botanist
• Andrea Cesalpino (1519-1603)
- De Plantis Libri XVI – classification of plants
according to their fruits and seeds without
Illustrations
➢ The 18th Century Swedish Botanist
• Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)
Carl von Linne
- Father of Modern Taxonomy
- The Species of Plants (Species Plantarum)
– classification of all plants known at that
time according to the binomial system
➢ The 18th Century French Botanist
• A.L. De Jussieu (1748-1836)
Antoine Laurent de Jussieu
- Genera of Plants Arranged According to
Their Natural Orders, Based on the Method
Module 1
Introduction to Botany:
Basic Concepts to Understand Botany
Devised in the Royal Garden of Paris in the
Year 1774 (Genera Plantarum Secundum
Ordines Naturales Disposita, Juxta
methodum in Horto Regio Parisiensi
Exaratam, Anno 1774)
o In the 19th century, the theory of organic
evolution prepared the way for a natural
system of classification wherein plants
related to one another through a common
ancestry are grouped together.
➢ The 19th Century English Naturalist
• Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Charles Robert Darwin
- The Origin of Species
- Simulated interests in reconstructing the
family tree/phylogeny of plant kingdom
- Introduced the scientific theory of natural
selection
- Led to a more intensive study of the laws
of variation and inheritance (encouraged by
the discovery of Mendel's Laws of
Inheritance)
➢ The 19th Century Austrian Scientist
• Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
Gregor Johann Mendel
- Father of Genetics
-Mendel’s Law of Inheritance – 3. Bawang (Allium sativum)
experimented on pea plant which led to the
recognition of the mathematical pattern of
inheritance from one generation to the
next.
o Modern botany is concerned with the
plant not as a static structure to be cut up,
picked apart, and described,
but as a dynamic, responsive, living system
– functioning, growing, and reproducing
itself.
IMPORTANCE OF PLANTS
• Plants are fundamental source of food.
• Plants can provide shelter and fuel.
• Plants can be made into clothing,
accessories, and cosmetics.
• Plants serve aesthetic purposes to the
environment.
• Plants help conserve biodiversity.
• Plants serve as buffers to climate change.
• Plants can be used and developed into
medicines.
10 DOH Approved Medicinal Plants
1. Akapulko (Cassia alata)
a. Other Names: Bayabas- bayabasan,
Ringworm bush
b. Therapeutic Class: Anti-fungal
c. Part Used: Leaves
d. Uses: Helps treat skin fungal infections,
specifically, ringworm.
2. Ampalaya (Momordica charantia)
a. Other Names: Bitter melon or bitter gourd
b. Therapeutic Class: Antidiabetic
c. Part Used: Leaves and fruit
d. Uses: Lowers down blood glucose or
blood sugar concentration. Helps treat
diabetes mellitus, hemorrhoids, coughs,
burns, and scald.
a. Other Names: Garlic
b. Therapeutic Class: Antihyperlipidemic/
Antihypertensive
c. Part Used: cloves
d. Uses: used in the treatment of
hypertension. Lowers down blood
cholesterol concentration. Treatment for
toothache.
4. Bayabas (Psidium guajava)
a. Other Names: Guava
b. Therapeutic Class: Antiseptic
Module 1
Introduction to Botany:
Basic Concepts to Understand Botany
c. Part Used: Leaves
d. Uses: Helpful in wound healing,
mouthwash, tooth decay, and infections.
5. Lagundi (Vitex negundo)
a. Other Names: Five -leaved chaste tree
b. Therapeutic Class: Antitussive
c. Part Used: Leaves
d. Uses: Helps treat dry coughs, colds, and
fever. Also relieves asthma.
6. Niyog-niyogan (Quisqualis indica)
a. Other Names: Chinese honey suckle
b. Therapeutic Class: Anthelminthic
c. Part Used: Seeds
d. Uses: Used to eliminate intestinal worms.
7. Sambong (Blumea balsamifera)
a. Other Names: Blumea camphora
b. Therapeutic Class: Anti -urolithiasis
c. Part Used: Leaves
d. Uses: diuretic and used used in the
excretion of urinary stones
8. Tsaang Gubat (Ehretia microphylla /
Carmona retusa)
a. Other Names: Forest tea or Wild tea
b. Therapeutic Class: Antidiarrheal
c. Part Used: Leaves
d. Uses: Treatment of diarrhea and corrects
intestinal motility.
9. Ulasimang Bato (Peperomia pellucida)
a. Other Names: Silver bush, shiny bush
b. Therapeutic Class: Antihyperuricemic
c. Part Used: Leaves
d. Uses: Effective in the treatment of gout
and arthritis. Lowers uric acid
10. Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii /
Mentha cordifelia)
a. Other Names: Peppermint
b. Therapeutic Class: Analgesic/ Antipyretic
c. Part Used: Leaves
d. Uses: Relieves body aches, pain,
menstrual cramps, rheumatism. Antipyretic
- lowers fever.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS
• Plants are highly organized.
• Plants take in (Photosynthesis) and use
energy (Cellular Respiration).
• Plants respond to stimuli.
➢ Phototropism – response to light
➢ Geotropism – response to gravity
➢ Hydrotropism – response to water
➢ Thigmotropism – response to touch
• Plants grow and develop.
• Plants are capable of reproduction.
➢ Sexual – requires the union of two
gametes (male and female)
➢ Asexual – does not require the
union of two gametes (male and
female)
• Plants adapt to their environment.
➢ Adaptation – changes a plant
undergoes to survive a certain
environment
➢ Evolution – adaptation that occurs
over a long period of time
CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS
Example:
Classification of Corn
• Domain: Eukarya
• Kingdom: Plantae
• Phylum: Anthophyta
Module 1
Introduction to Botany:
Basic Concepts to Understand Botany
• Class: Monocotyledones The Binomial System
• Order: Commelinales - Carolus Linnaeus
• Family: Poaceae - Should be italicized and the first
• Genus: Zea letter of the first word should be in
• Species: Zea mays capital letter. If not italicized, can be
written with by underlining each
The 3 Domains word.

The 6 Kingdoms

FIELDS OF BOTANY

The Subsciences of Botany

• Taxonomy – scientific study of
classification and nomenclature of living
things
• Morphology – scientific study of forms
and structure of living things
Multicellular • Physiology – scientific study of
✓ Plantae- has cell wall (cellulose) mechanisms and functions of living things
✓ Animalia- no cell wall
✓ Fungi- has cell wall (chitin) Disciplines of Botany
Unicellular • Plant ecology – study of the distribution
✓ Eubacteria and abundance of plants, including their
✓ Protista interaction with the environment
✓ Archaebacteria • Phytogeography – study of the geographic
distribution and influence of plants on
earth’s surface
Module 1
Introduction to Botany:
Basic Concepts to Understand Botany
• Paleobotany – study of the biology and
evolution of plants
• Economic botany – study if the interaction
of people and plants
• Forestry – study of the management of
natural resources form forests and lands
• Pharmacology – study of the mode of
action of drugs
• Agriculture – study of cultivating plants
and livestock
• Soil Science – study of soil
• Agronomy – technology of producing and
using plants
• Horticulture – study of garden cultivation
and management
• Plant Pathology – study of causes and
control of plant diseases